UFC 155 Preview and Predictions

Another great UFC event is scheduled for Saturday night on pay-per-view. It’s UFC 155 – Dos Santos vs. Valasquez II. It’s a rematch between UFC Heavyweight champ Junior Dos Santos, and the guy he beat to get the belt, Cain Valasquez. And there are some other great looking matchups on this card. So once again I am giving you my thoughts and predictions for some of these fights.

Junior “Cigano” Dos Santos vs. Cain Valasquez

The first fight between these two was kind of a historic event. It was the main event of the first ever UFC card on network television…UFC on FOX. Just like all title fights, this one was scheduled for five five-minute rounds, and it was the only scheduled fight to be shown on FOX. The only problem is the fight ended about a minute into the first round when Dos Santos knocked out Valasquez to win the heavyweight belt. Call it a lucky punch, a freak occurrence, or whatever else…but the fact is JDS caught Cain in the right spot and stunned him enough to finish the fight. That’s what can happen in MMA.

I don’t envision this fight going the same way though. Cain is a super-tough guy who was undefeated before he lost to JDS. His strengths are in his wrestling and takedowns and his cardio. The guy can go at the pace of a lightweight. Dos Santos, on the other hand, would like to stay on his feet and let his hands go. JDS has some of the best boxing in all of MMA, not just heavyweights. He definitely has one-punch knockout power (just ask Cain).

I am really, really torn about this one, but here’s how I see it. If Dos Santos can keep the fight standing and utilize his world-class boxing, I think he wins the fight…but I’m not sure how he will hold up in the championship rounds (4 and 5). Conversely, if Valasquez can manage to take down JDS, I think his control and his ground and pound will give him the victory…and there is no concern about his gas tank.

My prediction: I am honestly making my decision right now as I type this. Hold on, I’m still thinking. OK…I’m gonna go with Junior Dos Santos, winning by a TKO in the third round (and for the record I totally expect to be wrong).

Jim Miller vs. Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon

Obviously a majority of the public will be most hyped to see the big dudes trying to kill each other in the main event, but I am actually most excited about this fight…and if you’ve seen these two guys before, you will be too. Both guys look kind of unassuming and don’t really look like your typical MMA fighter. But all they do is go out and destroy guys and get big wins.

Joe Lauzon is absolutely one of my favorite fighters in all of MMA. On the surface he’s just goofy looking Information Technology guy (computer geek) from Massachusetts. But in reality he’s a beast in the Octagon…with 17 wins by submission, and the winner of 11 UFC bonuses. Simply put, he’s a stud. And what about Jim Miller? Well he’s some kid from Jersey who has worked his butt off to get to a record of 21-4, with 12 wins by submissions. Miller has lost 2 of his last 3 fights, including his recent fight when he was submitted by Nate Diaz.

My prediction: When you look at the skill sets of these two guys you’ll see that they are extremely evenly matched. Both are ninjas with their jiu-jitzu and have submitted some of the best guys in the world. So this fight could very easily be a display of world class grappling and BJJ. I think there will be plenty of submission attempts, but I think this fight will go the distance and be decided by the judges. So I am going to predict that Joe Lauzon wins by decision.

Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch vs. Constantinos Philippou

These are two of the biggest, toughest guys in the UFC Middleweight division (185 lbs) and they both love to battle. This should be an excellent fight! Boetsch started his UFC career as a light heavyweight (205 lbs), and has gone 4-0 since dropping to middleweight. He has a tough chin and great wrestling with ground and pound. Philippou has also gone 4-0 in last four fights, after losing his UFC debut back in 2011.

My prediction: Both guys are certainly to finish fights, and I think that’s what will happen here. I’m gonna go ahead and predict that Tim Boetsch wins this fight by submission in the first round.

Feel free to ridicule me as much as possible when my predictions turn out to be way off. I’m a huge fan of MMA and kind of a geek about it, but my prediction usually end up being wrong.

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